


I Wish We'd Never Met (You're Too Hard to Forget)

by ZukosSecondSword (michaelsbatmanboxers)



Series: Are You Moving Along? [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Jetko, M/M, Modern AU, Moving On, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Platonic Affection, Protective Jet, Song: Lie to Me (5 Seconds of Summer), Supportive friend, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, bi sokka, gay Zuko, he's not even in this but i hate him, jet's an agent of chaos, y'all asked for it, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:41:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michaelsbatmanboxers/pseuds/ZukosSecondSword
Summary: "Problem was I thought I had this right. Now I wish we'd never met, cause you're too hard to forget"Zuko moves on.
Relationships: Azula & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Jet/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Are You Moving Along? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048300
Comments: 32
Kudos: 105





	I Wish We'd Never Met (You're Too Hard to Forget)

**Author's Note:**

> You guys asked, and I'm nothing but a generous ruler (writer).

Zuko glances around the cafeteria. Azula’s waving at him from her table, surrounded by her friends. Zuko doesn’t want to be around her and Ty-Lee, they’ll just make him feel babied. Her friends already didn’t know how to act around him, and it’s just worse now. His eyes meet Sokka’s, who smiles at him awkwardly, surrounded by the people Zuko used to consider friends. Aang waves at him, but that ship has sailed. Zuko glances at his sandwich, before turning on his heel and walking from the cafeteria, his feet carrying him to the courtyard. 

He glances around as he steps outside. It’s empty, the way he likes it. No one eats out here this time of year, it’s too chilly. Zuko pulls his new sweater- reading ‘EAT ASS AND SKATE FAST’- closer to himself, sitting at one of the tables in the corner. 

\--

Shortly after their breakup, Iroh had taken Sokka’s sweater from Zuko’s room. He hadn’t touched it since he threw it on the ground. Zuko wasn’t sure what he’d done with it, but he couldn’t be bothered to ask. After letting Zuko marinate in his loneliness for a couple days, Iroh finally forced him out of the house. 

“We need to get you some new threads!” He had explained, pulling Zuko behind him. 

“Uncle, no one calls them ‘threads’ anymore.” 

“Azula said it was the lit new phrase!” 

“Azula always lies,” Zuko sighed, smiling despite himself. 

“To me? Never!” Iroh responded, ushering Zuko into the car. 

Their trip to the mall was relatively quick, Iroh grabbing every single hoodie that Zuko glanced at for longer than a second. “Uncle, I don’t need this many-” 

“Nephew, I’m getting you enough hoodies to last you a lifetime.” Iroh looked at Zuko, all his joking bravado dropping. He laid a hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “I never want you to have to rely on a boy for warmth again.” Zuko glances away, clenching his jaw. Uncle never gets this personal. “So, what others are catching your eye? Do you want this one?” He pulls out a lime green sweater with Garfield smiling out at him.    
  


“Absolutely not.” 

\--

Zuko unwraps his sandwich, taking a small bite. He hears the door to the courtyard open, but he chooses not to look. That is, until an intruder settles next to Zuko. Zuko glances up, meeting the kids’ dark brown eyes. “Hey, you.” Zuko looks away, his eyebrows pulling together. “I’m Jet.” The kid pushes his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes, shooting a wink at Zuko, who digs his nails in his palm. “Damn dude, what’re you moping about? That jock forget to buy you flowers or whatever?” Zuko looks up. 

“How do you know about me and Sokka?” 

“I know everything. So what’d he do?” Jet settles his arm on Zuko’s shoulder, who shrinks away slightly. 

“I- He-” Zuko sighs. “He left me for someone else.” 

“Oh, shit. That sucks.” 

“Yeah.” Zuko pushes his sandwich away. He wasn’t hungry anymore. Jet lets the silence sit between them for a second. 

“You wanna come burn shit with me?” Zuko recoils, looking at Jet incredulously. “What?” 

“ _ Burn shit?  _ Isn’t that illegal?” 

“Only if you burn important shit.” 

“We- we’d have to skip!” 

“Yeah.” Jet hums softly. “You’ve never skipped?” 

“Uncle wouldn’t want me to,” Zuko answers, wringing his hands. 

“Okay, but he wouldn’t want you to burn shit either. Come on, dude.” Jet stands. “You coming?” 

“I…” 

“Listen, I’ve had my fair share of things go wrong. And sometimes all you need is some catharsis. So let’s go burn some shit, sparky.” Jet holds his hand out to Zuko, smiling crookedly. Zuko hesitates, reaching up to grab his hand. 

“Yeah. Let’s… do that.” Jet winks, glancing around the courtyard before slipping out the gate, glancing behind him to ensure Zuko’s following. 

\--

Zuko couldn’t breathe. Zuko couldn’t fucking breathe. He had left school early, rushing out of the building with tears streaming down his face. He cried the whole way home, from the front steps of his school, to the crowded train, to curling up under his blankets. Azula kept texting him, barrage after barrage of texts blowing his phone up. Zuko shut his phone off. 

_ They’re together. They’re together. They’re together.  _ Zuko rocked himself, his knees tucked under his chin.  _ Fuck me, they’re already together. It’s been two fucking weeks.  _ Zuko can feel a fresh wave of tears break, his tears streaming down his face and his breath catching in his chest. Zuko could feel the darkness closing in on the edges of his vision as he hyperventilates, struggling to get a full breath in. He could hear his breath wheezing as his throat constricted, the panic of his restricted air flow causing it to get worse.

He could still hear Yue calling after him. “Zuko, wait! Let me explain!” 

He could still hear Sokka following him as he fled. “Sunshine, come on!” 

He could still feel his body trembling as a leaf as Sokka caught his arm, pulling Zuko to face him. “Sunshine, listen to me-” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

“You said we’d be friends!” 

“It’s been two fucking weeks, Sokka.  _ Two weeks. _ ” Zuko had snatched his arm away, turning his back on Sokka. “I’m not ready for this. Let me go.” 

“I’m right here when you’re ready.” 

“You’re not, Sokka. Everything’s fine for you, but you don’t get to pretend that I didn’t lose you.” Zuko’s voice caught in his throat as he turned, rushing out of the building. 

\--

Jet whoops with delight, laughing as the embers leap into the air. “Nice! Come on, don’t you feel better?” He nudges Zuko. Zuko can feel a smile crack, no matter how hard he fights against it. 

“Yeah… kind of.” 

“So… how long have you and- what’s his name? Lead actor kid?” 

“Sokka.” 

“How long have you and  _ Sokka  _ been apart?” Jet asks, pulling his eyebrows together. 

“Uh-” Zuko kicks at the smouldering mattress. “Four months. For someone who claims to know everything, you sure are behind on these things.” Jet laughs, running a hand through his shaggy hair. 

“I’ve been a bit busy. Apparently kicking a councilman in the face isn’t a widely accepted way to show your disapproval.” Jet leans back, flicking a stray ember away from Zuko. 

“Wait, you’re the one who assaulted Tarrlok?” 

“The one and only.” Zuko grins up at him. 

“God, I hate that guy.” 

“You and me both. It’s the 21st century, how’re you gonna stand here and try to pass all this blatantly homophobic and racist  _ bullshit _ ? I mean- stop and frisk policies? Really?” Jet continues his rant, jumping to his feet and pacing. Zuko leans back, watching him. 

“You sure are passionate about this stuff.” 

“It’s fucked!” Zuko grabs Jet’s book of matches, tossing it to him. 

“Wanna burn something?” 

“Fuck yeah, I wanna burn something.” Jet picks the matches up from the ground where they fell. “What do you think about that battery? It should cause a bit of a boom.” Jet shoots a crooked grin at Zuko, grabbing his hand to pull him up. Zuko flushes, pulling his hand away and slipping it into his pocket, scratching at his palm. Jet rushes ahead of him, striking a match and holding it close to the battery. “Get ready! Get set!” Jet drops the match, jumping away as the match catches the battery. It sizzles for a second, before exploding with an ear shattering  _ crack! _ Bits of metal and plastic rain through the air, showering down on Zuko. He pulls his arms to cover his face, his good eye squinting against the debris. 

“Nice,” Zuko comments. Jet scratches the back of his head, reaching into his back pocket. He pulls out a box of toothpicks, picking one out. He offers one to Zuko. 

“Want one?” 

“We haven’t eaten-” Jet shrugs, a half smile pulling at his lips. 

“It keeps me busy.” Jet waves his hand around, snorting. “It’s called stimming, or something. Anyway- want one?” Zuko hums, reaching a hand out, and pulling one between his fingers and settling it in his mouth. 

“Mint?” 

“I have more back at the orphanage. Lavender, lemon, the works.” 

“I didn’t know they made flavored toothpicks.” 

“You learn a lot about them when you go through a pack every few days.” Jet slides his eyes shut, leaning back. “Who knew a trash heap could be so fun?” 

\--

Zuko clenched his jaw, sliding through Instagram. He paused on a picture of Yue and Hakoda, frowning.  _ Shit, I miss him.  _ Zuko didn’t realize that losing Sokka meant losing his friends, his family, the family that took Zuko in with no questions asked. And of course, after dating for a couple months, they’d do the same for Yue.

Azula burst through the door, knocking Zuko’s phone from his hand. “Come on, you’ve got a blind date!” Zuko shook his head, glowering at her. 

“I already told you I don’t want to go on a date with one of your stupid friends.” 

“My friends aren’t stupid! And besides, this isn’t one of my friends. It’s some guy Chan knows, Ruon-Jian.” 

“That’s a stupid name,” Zuko rolled over, curling into his covers. 

“Come  _ on,  _ Zuzu. Don’t make me get Mai,” Azula threatened, raising an eyebrow and resting a hand on her hip. Zuko groaned, finally pulling himself out of bed. 

“I don’t want to go on a date,” he complained, watching as Azula whipped open his cupboard. 

“I get that, but you need to move on. I’m sick of you moping around.” 

“I’m not  _ moping _ !” 

“It’s all you do these days. God, why are all your clothes black?” Zuko crossed his arms, huffing. 

“It looks good on me.” 

“So would pink, or blue, or dark green, or-” 

“You’d say anything would look better than black.” 

“Absolutely untrue. I would kill you if you tried to wear orange or yellow. It’d clash with your eyes.” Azula waved her arm dismissively. “Alright, what about this?” She turned around, holding a shirt up to her torso. 

“The burning fire-lily shirt you gave me?” 

“Yeah, you never wear it!” Azula huffed, crossing her arms. 

“Sokka didn’t like the mesh v-cut.” 

“Sokka’s got a shitty taste in clothing, he wore the same damn thing every day,” Azula snorted. 

“No he didn’t!” 

“Pretty much!” She shrugged. Zuko shook his head, chewing on his bottom lip. “You’re probably gonna wear those skinny jeans you love so much, so that’s not even worth looking at. But your shoes?” Her eyes dropped to his boots. “You haven’t worn these in a while.” 

“Why am I putting effort into this? Nothing’s gonna happen between me and this- this Rain-Jang.” Zuko crossed his arms, scowling at the outfit Azula’s laying out. 

“ _ Ruon-Jian _ ,” Azula corrected. 

“Whatever.” 

“And you’re doing it because I asked you to.” Zuko sighed, twirling his thumbs. 

“Fine. But  _ only  _ because you asked me.” He paused. “And I’m not kissing him.” 

“Thanks, Zuzu!” 

\--

Over the past few weeks, Zuko and Jet had grown closer. Jet’s friends welcomed Zuko in without batting an eye- except for Pipsqueak, who looked him over with a glance and laughed. “Gotta get some meat on them bones!” He patted Zuko’s back. “I’ll make you eat, kiddo!” 

Zuko and Jet are walking down the hall together, speaking quietly. 

“No, you lost the game fairly,” Zuko shoots back with an easy laugh. 

“Your uncle’s a sneaky guy if you can’t see his cheating. You can’t believe he’d best me at Pai Sho.” 

“He’s been playing since he was young!” 

“I played while I was living on the streets. It’s how I got my dinner.” Zuko pulls his eyebrows together, stopping in his tracks, his eyes wide and his face pale. His gaze is stuck on Sokka, leaning against a locker and talking to Yue.

“So, sunshine, what do you-” Sokka cuts himself off, catching Zuko’s gaze. “Zuko-” Zuko turns away, rushing towards the nearest restroom, pushing into an empty stall. Jet follows close behind, his eyes filled with concern. 

“Zuko!” Zuko’s kneeling over a toilet, his breaths coming out in short, choppy bursts. The door flies open, Sokka following the two in. 

“Zuko, listen-” Sokka starts, stepping towards Zuko’s curled up form. Zuko dry heaves into the toilet, trembling as sweat pours down his face. Jet steps between Zuko and Sokka, his eyes narrowing. 

“Listen here, sports boy,” he spits, “you need to get out of here before you cause more trouble.” 

“Who the hell are you?” Sokka steps back, glancing Jet up and down. 

“I’m the one who helped pull Zuko back together. And as far as I’m concerned, you’re the one who’s gonna fuck that all up.” 

“We’ve been apart for six months, hasn’t he moved on?” 

“He has. You… however,” Jet crosses his arms, snorting. “Reusing pet names? That’s just sad.” Sokka clenches his jaw, pushing past Jet. 

“Zukes-” He reaches a hand out to lay on Zuko’s shoulder, who flinches away with a gasp. 

“ _ Don’t touch me. _ ” Zuko speaks harshly, pushing himself into the corner of the stall. 

“Zuko, you promised-” 

“We were together for  _ two fucking ye-ars,  _ Sokka.” Zuko pushes through his voice crack, the tears rolling down his face. “How do you just- just throw that away?” 

“I didn’t! We were supposed to be friends!” Sokka answers. Jet steps towards Sokka, grabbing his collar. 

“Back off, buddy.” Jet pulls him back, growling in Sokka’s ear. Sokka pushes him off again. 

“Can’t you see we’re talking here?” Zuko stumbles to his feet, pulling his gaze up to Sokka. 

“No, we’re not.  _ You are. _ You don’t get to dictate how I grieve, you don’t get to- to break me to my smallest pieces, then expect me to smile pretty as you grind me into the dust.” He pushes his finger into Sokka’s chest. “Listen to me, and listen close.” Zuko hisses through clenched teeth. “We are  _ not friends.  _ We are  _ never _ going to be ‘friends’,” Zuko spits the word out. “You don’t get to leave me when you get bored, then keep me trailing after you like a  _ lost turtle-duck. _ You don’t get to have your cake and eat it too you- you-” Zuko stutters, his mind wracking, “you  _ bastard! _ ” Zuko pushes Sokka towards the door. “Get out!” 

“Zuko-” Sokka steps towards him. 

“ _ I SAID GET OUT!”  _ Zuko flinches away from Sokka, stepping behind Jet. Jet puts a protective arm in front of Zuko, scowling at Sokka. 

“Back off, buddy. You said your piece and he said his. Get out.” Jet speaks quietly, a deadly calm Zuko’s never heard before. Sokka looks between the two, before stepping back, his facade cracking.    
  
“Two years doesn’t just go down the drain,” Sokka speaks softly, walking backwards. “I miss you, Zukes.” He turns, pausing as he grabs the handle of the door. “I really miss you.” 

\--

Azula dropped onto Zuko’s bed, her chin falling in her hands. Mai glanced up from where she’s reading.    
  


“It’s a bit crowded now, isn’t it?” She asked, smiling softly at Zuko’s sister. 

“You’re right, Mai,” Azula turned to Zuko, pushing his shoulder. “Get off the bed, Zuzu.” 

“Wha- this is my bed!” he stuttered in response, his good eye widening comically. “ _ You  _ get off, Mai is our guest!” Mai hummed, curling up to give Azula more room. 

“I’ll leave… after you tell me how your date with Ruon-Jian went!” Azula answered, and Mai perked up. 

“Yeah, you never told me either.” 

“There’s nothing to tell.” Zuko looked away. “He was full of himself. Talked like he was the next Jimi Hendrix or some shit. He made me watch videos of him playing guitar.” Zuko scoffed. “He wasn’t even that good.” Azula groaned. 

“The musician type?” 

“You set me up with him!” 

“I didn’t know anything besides he was gay and kind of good looking.” Azula shrugged. 

“He wasn’t, though! He looked like a dusty rat. He probably hasn’t washed his hair in weeks, calling it ‘artistic integrity’.” Zuko laughed, despite himself. “Anyway, I’m just- I don’t think I’m ready to date again.” Zuko sighed. “I’m not quite… over him.” 

“He’s over you,” Mai commented, flipping her page. 

“Mai!” Azula hit her shoulder, scowling. 

“What?” Mai shrugged. “I’m just pointing out the obvious, I’m not saying it’s right, or it’s not fucked.” Zuko nodded, chewing on his lip. 

“I know. I know. But- there’s still some part of me that hopes… I dunno. That he’ll wake up and want me back, or I’ll wake up and everything will be normal again.” 

“You deserve better than ‘normal’,” Mai responded, a sigh pulling through her lips. “You know this, Zuzu.” 

“Yeah!” Azula leapt to her feet, punching the air. “You deserve fairy tales! You deserve extraordinary! You deserve an action star who jumps in the way of an explosion to save you!” Zuko’s eyes danced with amusement. 

“I don’t think I’m getting that anytime soon.” 

\--

Jet’s walking next to Zuko, his familiar half smile meeting Zuko’s gaze. “Hear me out: hairspray, lighter, junkyard, see what happens. You in?” Zuko can feel his cheeks lighting up as he nods. “Perfect, it’s a date.” He punches Zuko’s shoulder light-heartedly, laughing. Zuko drops his gaze to the ground, smiling to himself. They walk a couple more steps before they come to an abrupt stop. Zuko pulls his eyes up, his gaze meeting Yue’s icy blue eyes. 

“Zuko, we need to talk.” She crosses her arms, her eyebrow pulling up as she shoots Jet a pointed look. “Alone.” Jet glances at Zuko, frowning at him. Zuko nods, shooting him a reassuring smile. Jet hums, stepping out of earshot, but close enough to keep an eye on Zuko. Zuko turns back to Yue, tilting his head. 

“What’s going on?” 

“Let’s skip the part where you shouted your head off at Sokka, and jump to this guy.” Yue throws a disdainful glance at Jet. “You’re hanging out with this guy? Zuko, you know you’re better than this.” Zuko looks down, frowning. “He’s a criminal.” 

“Come on, Tarrlok deserved it.” 

“Yes, but that’s not to mention all the robbery, looting, vandalism-” Zuko crosses his arms, looking away. 

“So? Those are all victimless crimes, you know. He doesn’t target small businesses, just those big corporations.” 

“You really think that means anything?” Yue questions, crossing her arms. 

“Yeah, I really do. Is he some sort of Robin Hood, no. But is he hurting anyone? Also no.” Zuko raises his chin in defiance, sniffing. 

“How did you go from  _ Sokka  _ to… that?” Yue raises an eyebrow. “Besides… I’m worried about you. You’ve been skipping school to hang out with that kid, and… starting fires, and-” 

“I’m having  _ fun _ , Yue. The first fun I’ve had since-” Zuko trails off, crossing his arms self consciously. 

“You need to find a better way to handle your grief.” Yue sets a hand on Zuko’s shoulder, frowning at him. His eyebrows pinch together, and he pushes her arm off of him. 

“Don’t do that!” 

“Don’t do what?” 

“That condescending shit. I’m doing just fine. I was doing just fine before  _ you ruined it,”  _ Zuko spits, ignoring Yue’s pained expression. “Don’t look at me like that, you know exactly what I’m talking about.” 

“I didn’t ask him to leave you.” 

“You didn’t have to,” Zuko sighs. “You have no right to tell me how to handle our breakup when you know it’s your fault.” 

“I’m so sorry you feel that way, Zuko.” 

“And another thing!” Zuko glares at her. “Stop being so nice! I’m trying really hard to hate you, but I can’t when you’re-” 

“You want to hate me?” Yue questions, her voice wavering. Zuko sighs, his shoulders slumping. 

“You took the one thing I had from me. Of course I want to hate you.” Zuko shakes his head. “But… I’m not ‘grieving’ anymore. I’m… I think I’m over it.” Zuko looks up, glancing at Jet. “I’m moving on, and I need you to let me do that. I need you to… to just give me some space. And I need you to make Sokka do the same.” He wrings his hands together anxiously. “Maybe someday, we can all be friends like he wanted. But I need time away. From him, and from you.” Yue nods, her eyes softening. 

“You’re setting boundaries. I can respect that.” She glances at Jet again. “But him? Really?” Zuko follows her gaze, smiling as his eyes lock with Jet’s, who’s chewing on another toothpick, his third of the day. 

“Yeah. I think so.” 

\--

Zuko was wearing one of his new sweaters, the one with raccoons chasing each other around a trashcan, with writing pleading the reader to “feed your local strays today!” in the cheesy late 90’s lettering. His knees were curled into it, watching Azula swipe through a Tinder profile she’d set up for him. 

“Oh! This guy liked you, what do you think?” 

“Well, you matched him without asking me, so,” Zuko shrugged. 

“That’s a glowing praise, from you,” Azula answered, swiping to message him. “Oh- he already.” She squinted at the screen. “‘Do you prefer seeing movies on first dates or… making them?’” She pushed a finger in her mouth, fake gagging. “Never mind.” 

“Why do all these guys suck so much?” 

“You just haven’t found the right one!” Azula responded. 

“I don’t know if I’ll ever find the right one,” Zuko sighed, settling his chin on his knees. 

“Why do you say that?” 

“Well… I mean- I thought Sokka was the one.” 

“He was your first real boyfriend, you can’t expect happily ever after with that,” Azula tutted softly. “What about this guy?” Zuko barely spared him a glance, before shaking his head. “You didn’t even look!” 

“It feels weird. I thought we were gonna get married, have kids… it’s stupid, but. Sokka  _ was  _ my happily ever after.” He blinked a couple times, his eyes finding the ceiling. “I dunno, you know?” Azula locked Zuko’s phone, laying next to him. 

“I know, Zuzu.” 

“I know you want me to move on, but… what if I’m not supposed to be loved by anyone?” Azula looked over at him, frowning as he finished his thought. “Like… look at me.” He motioned to his scar. “Who else is gonna love  _ this _ ?” 

“Zuzu, we love you. Me, Mai, Ty Lee, Iroh…” 

“But not romantically.” Azula fell silent for a second. 

“Maybe not, but… there’s someone for everyone. Like mom used to say.” 

“I might be the exception.” The siblings sat in silence after that, Azula holding Zuko close. 

\--

“And those plot holes?” Jet scoffs, “I’m never watching ‘The Life of Pi’ again!” 

“That’s based on a true story, Jet. I don’t think there  _ can  _ be plot holes,” Zuko laughs softly.

“Well, I just don’t like it.” Jet crosses his arms, nudging Zuko. Zuko’s curled up on the couch in his basement, Jet settled next to him. “What’s next?” Zuko walks to the TV, kneeling in front of it. 

“Uh… how does Scream sound?” 

“Bah, I’ve seen it a hundred times,” Jet waves his hand. 

“Really?” Zuko turns to Jet, a playful smile pulling at his lips. “A hundred times?”

“Eh, twice, a hundred, what’s the difference?” 

“About 98,” Zuko answers, shuffling through the movies. “What about Fight Club?” 

“Overrated movie about a bunch of strong, slightly good looking dudes punching each other.” 

“Avengers Endgame?” 

“If you’ve seen one Marvel movie, you’ve seen them all.” Zuko gasps, glaring at Jet. “What?” 

“We’re not friends anymore. That’s heresy!” He exclaims, much to Jet’s amusement. 

“It’s just not my jam,” Jet answers, settling back against the couch. 

“Alrighty then, uh…” Zuko laughs, pulling out a DVD. “What about The Thing?” 

“The original or the remake?” 

“Original.”

“...yeah, that works,” Jet finally answers. Zuko tosses a pillow at him, huffing. 

“You’re pickier than my sister.” Jet shoots him his patented crooked grin, and Zuko can feel himself quite literally melt. 

“Yeah, yeah, I picked you, didn’t I?” Zuko flushes, turning away to hide his shy smile and loading the DVD. He pulls himself up, returning to Jet’s side and curling up again. Jet leans forward, grabbing the remote and pressing the play button. He shifts, pulling out his box of toothpicks. “Lavender. You want one?” Zuko nods, plucking one from the box and settling it between his teeth as the movie begins. 

As it plays, he finds himself leaning towards Jet, his head coming to rest on Jet’s shoulder. The two were touchy with each other often in the five months since they’ve known each other but… tonight feels different. Zuko wrings his hands in his lap, barely paying attention to the movie. Jet pulls his toothpick out, flicking it across the room, humming as it lands in the trash. He plucks Zuko’s toothpick next, flicking it and hissing as it misses. 

“Next time,” Jet promises, seemingly to himself. Zuko laughs, watching Jet settle back against the couch, his arm coming to settle around Zuko’s shoulders. “So, sparky, you liking the movie?” 

“Yeah…” Zuko pulls his gaze away from Jet, settling it back on the screen, his face flushed red. “It’s very funny.” 

“The Thing is a thriller, my dear. It’s not funny,” Jet answers with a laugh. “You feeling alright? You’ve been kinda strange all night.”

_ Oh fuck, it’s now or never.  _   
  


“I feel- fine. I just… you know.” Zuko laughs nervously, ducking his face to hide it from Jet. “Just kinda… I have some things to say, I guess. I’ve been thinking...” Jet leans forward, grabbing the remote and hitting the pause button. 

“Zuko thinking, huh? That’s a dangerous combo.” Zuko hits Jet’s shoulder with a laugh. 

“Oh, shut up!” He hums to himself, his gaze falling to his lap. “I just- Fuck, Jet, I don’t know what to say.” Jet watches him with careful, knowing eyes. 

“Then don’t say anything,” he responds. Zuko looks up at him, his eyebrows pulling together hesitantly. 

“I…” Zuko takes a calming breath, before leaning in and planting his lips on Jet’s. Before Jet gets a second to react, Zuko jumps away, leaping to his feet. “I- forget it! Just forget this ever happened.” He turns away, his cheeks flaming as Jet chuckles behind him. “Don’t laugh at me, I thought-” Jet grabs his wrist, pulling him back to the couch and silencing him with a deep kiss. When Jet finally pulls away, Zuko’s absolutely breathless. 

“You thought right. I’ve just… been waiting for you to be ready.” Jet shoots a crooked grin at him. Zuko smiles to himself. 

“Thank you,” he speaks softly, his breath fanning over Jet’s lips. 

“No prob, sparky.” Jet leans in to kiss Zuko again, and everything feels okay again. 

  
  



End file.
